Roman Scorpion

Mounted on small carts, these ballistae have firepower and mobility.

The scorpion is a smaller form of the ballista, operating on the same principles of a torsion-powered bow. It was operated by one man, and was incredibly accurate at short ranges. It could be used as a sniper's weapon, but was often deployed for indirect battery fire where the high rate of fire could unleash a withering hail of bolts to completely pepper an area. Scorpions were popular with the Romans, where they were used to support the Legions. Batteries had sixty scorpions, each of which was capable of firing three or four shots per minute. Like its larger counterpart, the ballista, the Greeks originally developed the scorpion, but its deadly nature led to rapid adoption by many nations. In most designs, power came from two wooden levers inserted into twisted skeins of animal sinew which, when the arms was pulled back, provided incredible power.